Birthday Gift
by jessara40k
Summary: AU writen for slavefics challenge. In a world where the Cetra were reborn and overthrew ShinRa many humans are slaves. Sephiroth, the consort of one of the two figurehead rulers of the world, Cloud selects as slave to be Aeris' bodyguard
1. Chapter 1

Sephiroth _hated_ visiting the slave market, especially the enhanced section; it reminded him _far_ too much of the fate he'd so narrowly avoided, and of how dependent he was on Cloud's good graces. At least in the normal section he knew that all the slaves were guilty to some extent of one crime or another, although he felt the Cetra overestimated the choices available to people in many ways, but many of the slaves in the enhanced section were victims of Hojo, just like he was. After Cloud and Aeris called back the Cetra in the Cetra Restoration Hojo had managed to escape the warrior caste Cetra who went to capture him and went on a spree of infecting children with Mako stored Jenova cells, giving them some of the powers of the one-time SOLDIERs.

Cloud had told Sephiroth a year ago, when he turned sixteen and became an adult warrior caste Cetra that his help in locating Hojo had been the main reason Cloud's request that the then fifteen year old Sephiroth be allowed to remain free, albeit pledged to become Cloud's consort when he reached adulthood. It had helped as well that the Planet's Heart had been able to report that he'd been responsible for her escape from Hojo's labs with her mother, even if Ifalna had died in the escape, but he'd spent a year fighting in Wutai for ShinRa by the Restoration.

But Cloud had ordered him to find a suitable candidate to become his sister's bodyguard, as her eighteenth birthday gift, and the best choices were all in the enhanced section. He wasn't going to disappoint his lord by failing in his task just because he felt uncomfortable going where he needed to go to get the job done. Angeal was the first slave to catch his attention; Sephiroth _knew_ that someone who'd been a SOLDIER when he went to Wutai, and had taught him how to command would never be acceptable to serve a healer caste Cetra, especially not one who'd just become an adult, but he also knew that older slaves were used to train the younger enhanced slaves.

"Angeal." What else could he say? The older man took that question away from him by speaking first.

"Sephiroth?" He'd looked up when he heard Sephiroth's voice, obviously recognising it, and recognising the meaning of the 'jewellery' around his neck wrists and ankles. "You're some Cetra's consort?"

"Yes." He wasn't sure what to say, being a consort was the highest position any human could aspire to, and here he was, consort to the Planet's Champion, a position most Cetra thought should be filled by a healer caste Cetra, when people who had less of Jenova's infection than he did were slaves. If he said anything positive about Cloud it could be seen as gloating, and saying something negative would be a lie. "I don't like to gloat about how lucky I was."

"Everyone knows the only real difference between a consort and a slave is some extra status and the knowledge that you can't be sold." Sephiroth smiled at the casual reassurance, he wasn't sure it was accurate, but he didn't contest Angeal's view. "What did your master send you here to get?"

"A coming of age gift for a healer caste Cetra, a bodyguard."

"Then why are you talking to me? There's no way he'd accept an ex-SOLDIER like me for an eighteen year old healer caste." Angeal drew in a quick breath and gritted his teeth against the pain as the uncaste Cetra standing guard over him activated the punishment device.

"Stop that."

"He was being insolent...sir." The uncaste obeyed, but the title was obviously forced out of him. Sephiroth wondered absently if he was a coward, one born to the warrior caste who'd refused to activate his powers, or a murderer, a healer who'd killed by use of his powers without reason by the Planet's judgement and been punished by the loss of his powers.

"He was being accurate. And my lord is considering buying one or more enhanced to spar with. It isn't as if _I_ could do that for him, and he is quickly moving past the point where other warrior caste will aid his learning." Cloud was more powerful than most warrior caste were, far more powerful since his powers had been activated when he was just five. The only way Sephiroth had been permitted to live was after ten warrior caste had worked with a mind-gifted healer caste to twist a healing to the point where he was incapable of doing anything that could cause harm to another without Cloud's specific permission.

"Do you want to see his file then?"

"Please, and I need to talk to him as well." Sephiroth pointedly turned away from the uncaste, knowing the warrior caste Cetra Cloud had assigned as his bodyguard would make sure he didn't approach or disturb Sephiroth again, and pulled a bottle of painkillers from his belt, offering them to Angeal. "Will these help?"

"I don't need them, but thank you." Angeal smiled at Sephiroth. "I know you probably only made that up about your lord needing sparring partners to shut that snotty prick up, but thank you for that as well. What did you really want to talk to me about?"

"Cloud does need sparring partners, and he told me to look out for any enhanced he might want to test himself, but...I know the uncaste usually use the more experienced enhanced to train the younger, and I was hoping you could suggest some who'd be a good choice as bodyguard for a young healer caste. And someone with a bit of spirit as well." He knew that Angeal had to be aware of all the possible duties that could entail, and although Aeris would never force anyone she could use a companion.

"I can think of three straight off. There's a redhead called Reno, he's a bit smart-mouthed, and a little bit of a slut, but I think that's defensive. Then there's a brunet called Zack, he's a couple of inches shorter than you are, and he jokes and smiles a lot, to hide the pain as much as anything else, but he's pretty friendly. His hair grows a bit like the Planet's Weapon's does, in all those spikes. Then there's a girl, she's just seventeen, Reno's twenty-one and Zack's nineteen, her name's Tifa and she's a brunette, and a bit top-heavy."

"Thank you." Sephiroth turned to the Cetra then, taking Angeal's file and looking through it. "Well, are those slaves here at the moment?" He doubted he'd choose this Tifa, Aeris preferred men, and Cloud had once mentioned a girl called Tifa who was one of the popular kids, where he was the social outcast in Nibelheim.

"The two males came in late yesterday; we haven't had a female for over a month." Angeal's file was pretty impressive, and Sephiroth could personally attest to the fact that he knew how to hold his own against someone _much_ stronger than he was.

"I see. Put a hold on him, my lord will be in to make the final inspection and decision within the week." It was Aeris' birthday in four days, and Cloud had been looking for a suitable enhanced slave for a week, but he'd had to go on a trip yesterday, and he wasn't due back until late tomorrow, so he'd asked Sephiroth to continue looking while he was away. "And tell me where to find the two males."

Sephiroth waited patiently while the Cetra fastened a tag to Angeal's collar, recording the name and rank of the one who'd reserved him and found the information he'd asked for; since there was no one who outranked Cloud that meant he'd still be there when Cloud had time to come see him. Reno would be easier to get to, and he ordered the uncaste to make sure that Zack wasn't sold before he had a chance to inspect the man - he didn't really care whether he took the message himself or sent Angeal with it.

Reno was spirited, Sephiroth had to acknowledge that, but his banter was a bit too overly sexual for his taste, and he was _definitely_ sluttish in his behaviour, telling Sephiroth that he was easy in response to his question about sexual preferences and then asking if _Sephiroth_ wanted him. That answer had been indiscreet enough to border on stupidity; even if he were one of the rare consorts permitted by his lord to take a lover, discretion would have been an essential requirement. But he'd had to ask the question; Aeris wasn't a rapist, so for there to be the possibility of anything more than friendship between her and her bodyguard the bodyguard had to enjoy women. Reno hadn't been owned by any healer caste before either, and that counted against him a little as well. But he'd done well enough that Sephiroth felt he would be justified in sparring with him as a final test, especially since Cloud had explicitly given him not only permission but an order to do so.

"Get his sword and find me somewhere to spar with him." Sephiroth smiled faintly at the uncaste Cetra as he spoke, since this one had been polite to him. "My lord will not want his gift to the Planet's Heart to be inadequate in a fight after all."

"Yes sir. If you'll follow me."

"Best get a bucket as well." Sephiroth ignored the way his guard joked about the after-effects of sparring for him, focusing on the uncaste in front of him instead.

It wasn't a surprise that Reno used an oversized broadsword - it would have been easiest for Angeal to teach all his pupils the weapon he used, and the uncaste wouldn't have bothered finding weapons more suited to them. What was surprising was how 'bad' he was with it, Sephiroth defeated him five times in half an hour before deciding that he'd given Reno enough of a chance to show his abilities. Once he gave Masamune back to his guard the reaction set in, and he ended up kneeling beside the bucket the uncaste had brought, trying to keep his hair out of his face as he threw up. Reno didn't even try to help him, and that was the last nail in his coffin.

"You can take him back. Reserve him for three days, in case I can't find anything better, but I seriously doubt that he will suffice. Oh, and have Zack sent here, with his weapon."

"Yes sir." Sephiroth sighed and accepted the snack his bodyguard offered while he was waiting for the other slave to arrive.

oxOX()XOxo

Zack knew some sort of high muckety-muck was interested in him just from word of mouth the moment Angeal came to talk to his supervisor with a tag on his collar, but he didn't get a chance to ask _who_, or to read Angeal's tag, and it wasn't like he could see the tag Yotan put on him properly. When Reno turned up wearing a tag as well Zack figured the guy who'd asked after him had been looking for enhanced who used broadswords, or enhanced trained by Angeal, he wasn't quite sure which.

"Remember to show proper respect Zack. That means keep your head bowed until he tells you to look at him. He'll probably be wanting you to spar with him at some point, so make sure to do your best. The reason he wants you, it's a pretty good place, don't do anything to damage your chances."

"I will Yotan, I promise." The Cetra wouldn't be urging him to make the best impression if he wasn't being considered for a good place, somewhere that his duties _wouldn't_ necessarily include spreading his legs. He knew he was lucky, Yotan was usually the one put in charge of him when he was being sold, and he'd managed to get to know him pretty well. He'd been a healer caste until he avenged his human wife and half-blood children by twisting a healing on a warrior caste he _knew_ had killed them, without enough proof to bring him to justice legally.

He bowed his head in the submissive pose more than one warrior caste had tried to beat into him, although they'd always just sold him on if they found it too difficult, focusing on the floor in front of his boots as he walked. He came to a halt when Yotan put a hand on his arm, just after a pair of black leather boots with a slight bulge at the ankle came into his field of vision.

"You can look at me." There was laughter in the deep, rich voice, and Zack lifted his head slowly, his gaze following the slim, strong legs to the two belts at the man's waist and hips, noting the flaring black coat that fell to the top of his boots on the way. Seeing the bare muscled stomach above the belt told him this was a fighter, but then he caught sight of the man's wrists, or more precisely the woven metal bands around them, each set with a single green materia, and he knew he was in front of a consort; no Cetra would wear a consort's jewels unless entitled to them and any human who did so would be enslaved on sight. The consort was wearing a leather harness that crossed over his chest, and Zack had a feeling that should mean something to him, he just couldn't remember what, not until he actually saw the man's face, noting almost absently that there were five materia set in his collar, two pairs of one blue and one green and a central red materia.

"Yes sir." He remembered Yotan's instructions to be polite, even though he wished he'd known it was Sephiroth who'd wanted to see him. A lot of the enhanced slaves saw him as a traitor, because he had a lot of freedom compared to them, and because he'd helped hunt down Hojo, but Angeal had always said that at least _one_ of Hojo's victims wasn't suffering too much for what the bastard had done. And a lot of the grumbling had been from older men, men who'd _volunteered_ to be enhanced the way Angeal had, and Angeal had said the techniques were derived by torturing Sephiroth. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. You brought his file?" Zack felt his hackles rise at the faint disdain he saw in the way Sephiroth glanced at Yotan, even if the Cetra didn't seem to be insulted.

"Here. You want a rundown of his strengths and weaknesses that the file won't tell you?"

"Yes please." Sephiroth sounded surprised and impressed, and there was a hint of respect in the way he looked at Yotan now. "But not yet. Go and find Zack's sword while I talk to him first." He waited for Yotan to start moving before looking at Zack. "You're unhappy with me for some reason, explain."

"You don't have any reason to look down on Yotan like that, he's done nothing to deserve it, any more than you deserve to be seen as a traitor - less in fact." Sephiroth put out a hand, stopping the warrior caste behind him as he stepped forward threateningly.

"No, let him speak. Zack, first, all uncaste Cetra either were too cowardly to enter the Warrior caste or committed premeditated murder in the Planet's view, breaking an Oath sworn to It in the process." Zack didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but it didn't matter.

"Are you going to tell me that you wouldn't kill someone to avenge your family when there was no other way?"

"I don't think I'd break an Oath to the Planet to do so, no. Still, accepting the price to do what he felt needed doing is an admirable trait, and you may have a point, but I dislike this place and the trade involved, and I know he must have had other options. But enough of that, I need to talk to you."

"Yes sir." The man had been remarkably patient with his usual insolence, so Zack would be obedient and submissive now if it killed him. "What do you need to know?"

"Your sexual preferences for one thing."

"Healer caste." The Cetra had considered him old enough for sex since he was sixteen, healer caste tended to be a _lot_ more considerate in bed, even if both castes had made it pretty clear his pleasure came a distant second to their own.

"I see...does that mean you look at men as much as at women?" He seemed almost confused, but the question didn't make much sense, slaves never really got a choice, so they tended not to have much in the way of preferences.

"Yeah, it's how they treat you that matters, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. And how would you say you treated your partners?" Zack didn't understand this, Sephiroth was acting almost like an elder brother checking out his sister's prospective suitor, but he answered all the questions honestly, joking when he dared.

"Good enough. Zack, do some kata to warm up while I listen to what Yotan has to say about you." Sephiroth had been looking through his file sometimes as they talked, and Zack could tell that he was still doing that as he listened to what Yotan was saying about him, so he used his anger at the implied disrespect - to Yotan, not to him - to push himself that little bit harder.

"Give me Masamune. Zack, you'll spar with me for a bit."

"Yes sir." He focused on his opponent, on the odd stance he took with his sword, ignoring what his guard was saying about getting a bucket. He waited five minutes, hoping Sephiroth would attack first, but he just stayed in his stance and Zack gave in, attacking himself. Fifteen minutes later Sephiroth had disarmed him, and even though he looked faintly green he ordered Zack to attack again. This time he was defeated in just over ten minutes and Sephiroth handed his sword over to his bodyguard.

"That's enough for me." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Sephiroth was bent over the bucket throwing up. Zack knelt beside him, he didn't understand what had made Sephiroth ill, but he wasn't going to just stand around watching him throw up, even if from Yotan's scandalised look he was expected to. He held Sephiroth's long hair out of his face and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Could one of you get a glass of water and a damp cloth please?" He was probably messing up his chances at the place Sephiroth might want him for, but his bodyguard had this almost helpless look on his face, and Yotan was reacting to Sephiroth almost like he was a warrior caste Cetra, so no one else was going to help him. Yotan looked happy to have something to do, something that would get him out of the way and he immediately ran to get what Zack had asked for, leaving Zack almost glaring at Sephiroth's bodyguard over his back.

"Back down kid. I'm not going to stop you tending to him." It looked like Sephiroth had just about finished throwing up by then, and Zack helped him up, hoping he wasn't insulting him somehow.

"Yotan's getting you a glass of water and a damp cloth sir, when he gets here you should take a mouthful to clean your mouth out and then spit it into the bucket."

"Thank you Zack. By the way, normally my bodyguard would help me with this, but I ordered him not to do that today."

Had it been some sort of test for him then? But from Sephiroth's faint smile it was a test he'd passed so Zack put it out of his mind. And when Yotan arrived there was a distraction from his thoughts as Sephiroth took the water and followed his advice, wiping his mouth clean with the damp cloth afterwards.

"I'll sign for him, but keep Reno on reserve just in case. My lord might decide I made the wrong choice, but I think Zack would make a worthwhile sparring partner if Cloud decided he isn't suitable for what I came for." Yotan nodded and began leading them to the nearest sales point. "Zack, you're to be an eighteenth birthday gift for my sister. She's a healer caste Cetra so she needs a bodyguard, I picked you because you demonstrated the compassion and empathy I think she needs from her first bodyguard. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir, I understand." It was pretty simple after all and Zack hoped this Cloud found him acceptable. Bodyguarding a healer caste was a pretty good position after all, and even though the more powerful healer caste tended to acquire more bodyguards they usually kept their first one until he or she died, at least they did since the Restoration, Yotan had said it wasn't like that when there were fewer humans.

"And you understand that you'll have to be hidden from Aeris at least until Cloud has tested you, and probably until her birthday?"

"Yes sir." Zack didn't get why his agreement mattered, but he saw a faint smile on Sephiroth's face as he responded.

oxOX()XOxo

Sephiroth waited anxiously for Cloud to return, he always hated it when Cloud had to go somewhere without him, something inside him felt _empty_ when he couldn't see Cloud and touch him often enough to fill that aching void. It had bothered him eleven years ago, when he'd recovered from how the Cetra had altered him, that he couldn't cope without seeing and touching a six year old daily, but by now it was just something about his life and nature that he accepted without questioning. Cloud had never denied him what he needed if it could be avoided after all, and he'd been understanding about it, even when Sephiroth's need for contact became stronger, and the type of contact he needed more intimate.

It seemed as if Cloud finally fucking him on his sixteenth birthday had made Sephiroth's addiction to him even worse, because he hadn't hurt quite so much when Cloud had to leave him behind before that. That was the only reason he had to be grateful that Cloud hadn't started fucking him when he was fourteen or fifteen as Sephiroth had asked...no almost pleaded for him to do. If he hadn't been altered by the Cetra Sephiroth liked to think that he wouldn't have been so desperate to be with Cloud in that way, he didn't want to think that simply being kept celibate had been reason enough for him to throw over all his morals and try to seduce someone legally a child. He'd been a virgin up until the Cetra Restoration anyway, and he had a feeling that without the alterations the Cetra had made to his mind he'd have perceived Cloud as a child until he was twenty just because he'd known him so long.

He stroked the Restore materia set into his right wrist cuff to calm himself as he thought about how Cloud might react to his choice. He'd gone back to the slave market to look for any alternatives, in case Cloud decided Zack wasn't suitable, but he hadn't been able to find anyone even worth sparring against, just like he hadn't the first time he went there. He sensed his lord's approach, and walked out to greet him outside the entrance as all consorts were expected to do, his current bodyguard shadowing him.

"Miss me?" Cloud had a teasing smile on his face as he reached up to lay a hand along Sephiroth's cheek. Sephiroth rubbed his cheek against that hand for a moment, luxuriating in his touch, before actually replying.

"Don't I always my lord?"

"And you always make me very welcome back, yes. Did you find anything suitable?" Sephiroth wanted to flinch a bit at that any_thing_, not anyone, he hated what the word implied about how Cloud viewed slaves.

"Yes my lord, he's called Zack. He was trained by Angeal, who taught me for a while and he's had experience with healers. He managed well enough against me in a spar, and he tended to me afterwards." When Sephiroth was suffering the after-effects of trying to harm someone, even with an explicit order from Cloud.

"And sexually?"

"He prefers healer caste. When I pressed him on gender preferences Zack said that what matters is how a lover treats you."

"Good. Take me to him, and tell me anything else you think I should know."

Sephiroth had told Zack to be in the training hall from five until eight, so that was where he led Cloud, hoping that he'd want to test Zack's skill with a sword for himself first, and that he'd test Zack's control _after_ he'd bedded Sephiroth.

"I did spot a back up possibility, Reno, but he isn't as good with a sword as Zack is, and he didn't help me afterwards and I just had him tagged in case we needed him. They were both trained by Angeal, and I thought you might want to test him as a possible sparring partner so I had him tagged for you."

"Good. You did well." Sephiroth wanted to purr at that small bit of praise, but he stayed silent and kept on moving instead, enjoying the feel of Cloud's hand in his. When they reached the training hall they saw Zack running through a kata, but as soon as he noticed them he stopped and knelt to Cloud.

"Did you choose him to fit Aeris' tastes?" Cloud sounded amused, and Sephiroth didn't say anything in response, there wasn't really anything he _could_ say to that. "Zack, I want you to spar with Morgan here while I watch."

"Yes sir." Sephiroth knelt while the Cetra prepared to spar, and leaned against Cloud's legs, letting his eyes fall closed - he found it really hard to get to sleep without sharing a bed with Cloud, and Cloud reached down to stroke his hair in reassurance. It wasn't enough, he'd feel empty until his lord took him, but it would do for now. He already knew that Zack was probably good enough to be Aeris' bodyguard, even though his skills hadn't really improved that much during the past eleven years - not against people at any rate - he was enough stronger and faster than Zack to compensate for his greater and more recent experience in anything but solo kata.

"Good. Report to my bedroom at nine tomorrow morning for the final test. Even if you fail this test I'll still keep you as a sparring partner."

"Yes sir."

"Come on Sephiroth." He opened his eyes and stood, accepting the hand Cloud offered him and trailing a step behind him on their way to Cloud's bedroom - while they usually shared it and Sephiroth used it when Cloud was away he had slept in a different bedroom until Cloud was sixteen, and he was occasionally sent to sleep there, alone, as punishment. Cloud pulled him forward when they reached the bedroom, and then pushed Sephiroth to sit on the bed, unfastening his heavy robe and pushing it down his shoulders slowly, kissing Sephiroth's skin as he exposed it.

Sephiroth moaned in pleasure at the feel of Cloud's lips on his skin, but he _couldn't_ do anything more to encourage him, because that would come too close to telling Cloud what to do. And he couldn't do that under any circumstances, he couldn't even give advice unless Cloud ordered him to.

"You made a _very_ good choice with Zack, and since this Angeal trained him I'm almost inclined to buy him as a sparring partner sight unseen." Cloud kissed him once he'd finished stripping Sephiroth's robe off, leaving him naked and pushing him back to lie on the bed. "Can you tell me anything to affect my decision about him?" Cloud latched onto Sephiroth's right nipple when he'd finished speaking, teasing the left between his fingers and sliding his thigh between Sephiroth's legs. He knew from experience that if he didn't answer soon enough Cloud would stop and back off until he _got_ an answer, so he tried desperately to marshal his thoughts.

"Hh-he...taught me. I was ahhh-always...stronger and faster than...h-he was."

"Good enough." Cloud backed away quickly, and Sephiroth _whined_ at the loss of contact, but he couldn't do anything to regain it, he couldn't be anything but a passive partner unless Cloud ordered it. And then Cloud flipped him over, lifting his ass with a cushion under his hips, and leaned forward, hands resting on his ass and Sephiroth knew just _what_ Cloud was going to do. He loved how it felt, but he was sure it was degrading for his lover to do that to him, and Cloud never seemed to want him to return the favour. First Cloud licked the area of skin just behind his balls, then he moved further back, tongue circling the entrance to Sephiroth's body until he was relaxed enough for Cloud to probe inside with his tongue. The feel of that hot wet muscle entering him and stretching him was incredible, and Sephiroth couldn't hold back his moans - not that he would ever try to hold them back, and soon enough he was pleading, begging for more - begging was _always_ permitted.

Cloud didn't move on until he was ready, he never did, but eventually he pulled back and replaced his tongue with an oiled finger, reaching to stroke Sephiroth's back with his other hand. By the time he added the second finger Cloud had come to lie partly on Sephiroth's back, pushing his hair out of the way so he didn't lie on top of it, and so he could kiss the nape of his neck, gently, teasingly.

"You're so beautiful, is there anything you'd like this time?" Sephiroth's breath caught at that, he could only ever ask for anything in bed if Cloud gave him permission to, implicitly or explicitly, he'd tried before but he just couldn't form the words.

"Might I...ride you?" It was the only way he was capable of having control, he simply could _not_ even imagine taking his lord, and _Cloud_ seemed to like it as well.

Cloud laughed and rolled off him, pulling his fingers out as he did and handing the bottle of oil to him. "Finish stretching yourself then, and do whatever you want." Within the limits that had been set for him, probably without Cloud's full knowledge. Sephiroth was long past feeling bitter about that, but it was something he remembered always, and something his lord often forgot.

He knelt over Cloud, pouring a little oil into his left hand and using that to coat three fingers on his right before reaching behind himself and sliding two out of three fingers into his body, then adding the third after a moment of stretching with two fingers. At the same time he wrapped his left hand around Cloud's erection, covering it in oil and bringing him to full hardness. Then he sat back, guiding Cloud into him, and waited to adjust before he began moving, enjoying how Cloud felt inside him, and the gentle touches Cloud gave him here and there. Cloud climaxed first, filling him with seed, but after he'd lifted Sephiroth off Cloud curled around and took him into his mouth, sucking until Sephiroth climaxed himself, and then pulled him into his arms to sleep.

oxOX()XOxo


	2. Chapter 2

Zack brushed his hair out and even considered tying it back for a moment, before dismissing the idea - his hair was too wild for that to really work and his 'temporary' owner's hair was just as wild. Still, he wanted to make a good impression, bodyguards were expected to attend their Cetra on formal occasions, and if he couldn't _look_ smart at all...on the other hand he was almost certain that if he looked all neat and perfect while he was training Cloud would have decided he wasn't even good enough to be a sparring partner. That would have made it clear he wasn't willing to train hard enough to be any good as Aeris' bodyguard, or worse that he wouldn't fight hard enough to defend her if she needed it.

He made one last inspection of his appearance in the full-length mirror that hung in his current bedroom - presumably he'd be moved to something more in keeping with his station once he'd been given to Aeris or Cloud had decided to keep him for himself. It worried him a bit that he didn't know what Cloud was going to be testing him on this morning, or what he was looking for, but he pushed that aside as he began making his way to the kitchen, where he could ask how to get to Cloud's bedroom. In all the households he'd been in the kitchen was the social centre for the servants and slaves, and Sephiroth had said it was one of the places he was allowed to go while they were keeping him hidden from Aeris.

"Hey, I've got orders to report to the master's bedroom at nine and no idea where that is. Can anyone help me?" He grinned at the people sitting in apparent idleness at the table hopefully, he didn't want to think about what might happen if he was late and he just hoped that backstabbing and infighting weren't encouraged or even common in _this_ household.

"Rufus, you show him where to go." Zack wasn't sure what position the man who gave the order held, but a blond man wearing nothing more than leather collar and a knee length tunic obediently stood, eyes cast down.

"If you'll come with me sir?"

"You don't need to call me sir." Zack protested, but he followed Rufus obediently.

"Yes, I do sir. My situation has been made _very_ clear to me." His voice was distant, almost cold, but he didn't raise his eyes. Zack had to wonder what he meant, but he wasn't cruel enough to ask - not when he could probably find out another way and he fell silent, memorising the corridors Rufus led him through.

"I'm not allowed any further sir, but the first room of the Planet's Weapon's quarters is through that door."

"Thank you." Zack steeled himself and knocked on the door.

"Come in." It was Sephiroth's voice, and that shouldn't have surprised him, so why it _did_...although he _had_ seen one or two consorts who slept away from their lord for some reason and on some level he must have expected Sephiroth to resent being Cloud's consort.

"Cloud told me to report here at nine sir." Sephiroth would know that, but...

"Yes, and when he asks where I am afterwards you can tell him I'm busy slicing a training dummy to pieces."

"Yes sir."

"That means you can go through to his bedroom, _that_ door." Sephiroth pointed at the door opposite the one Zack had come in by. "By the way, in case you _do_ become Aeris' lover, one of her kinks is seeing men in women's clothes, will that be a problem for you?"

"Not as long as it's just in private." Zack was surprised that Sephiroth had bothered to _ask_, if Aeris decided she wanted him he wouldn't have a choice in the matter, and he wouldn't have expected Sephiroth to know about Aeris' preferences, but he didn't dare mention any of that as Sephiroth swept out. He'd meant to ask about that Rufus, but since he didn't get the chance he walked through to meet Cloud, and froze when he saw what the Planet's Weapon was wearing.

"Sephiroth did mention that Aeris likes seeing men in women's clothes didn't he? It was always easier for me to let her play, and it lets me get more information about you from this final test."

"Yes sir." Zack still couldn't quite process the idea of the most powerful man alive wearing a high necked blue dress. "Err...what is this final test sir?"

"Simple, undress and fuck me, but pretend I'm as fragile as a healer caste." Cloud wanted him to _what_? Zack guessed it was as good a way as any to make sure he could control himself, and Cloud was pretty enough he guessed, he just didn't really know the guy. He shouldn't be surprised, the man was warrior caste after all, and they didn't really have a problem with forcing their slaves into sex, he'd just thought that Cloud had to care for Sephiroth with the way the consort was so devoted to him. Cloud seemed to sense his confusion and shrugged. "I need to test how well you can control your strength during sex." That made sense, a lot of healer caste took their bodyguards as lovers and they were more fragile than most warrior caste Cetra and enhanced humans.

Zack stepped forward and put his arms around Cloud, hugging him gently to start, he was just a couple of inches shorter than Zack, but somehow he seemed smaller, almost fragile because he wasn't bulky, his muscles were lean and his shoulders were nowhere near as broad as Zack's. Of course Cloud was two years younger than he was Zack remembered as he bent his head to kiss Cloud, tongue running over his lips until they opened and he let his hands trail down the other man's spine. When he heard a faint sound of pleasure from Cloud he took it as his cue to move on, lifting his hands to start unfastening the dress, kissing Cloud's neck and shoulders as he pulled the blue dress down his arms.

He was wearing a carefully stuffed lacy bra underneath, and little lacy panties, both in a golden colour, and a golden lacy suspender belt with white stockings. It was pretty weird to see a man wearing that sort of thing, but that was the whole point wasn't it, Cloud wanted Zack to treat him the way he'd treat this Aeris if she commanded him into her bed. Still, he found it hard to imagine _any_ Cetra, even an uncaste, responding so passively, in his experience Cetra were pretty aggressive in bed, and he didn't get why Cloud was forcing himself into this false attitude.

"Could you sit down please?" It was a bit awkward to get someone to sit down without simply asking them and Cloud didn't look as if he was going to take any initiative.

"Tell me if there's anything else you'd like me to do." Cloud smiled up at him from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Umm...could you tell me if I hurt you or go too fast please?" Zack really couldn't get his head around this, but he was trying to be responsible about the power Cloud was allowing him.

"Of course. Would you ask Aeris to do that, or would you just assume that she'd tell you if there was a problem?"

"I...it would depend on how she acted, if she let me lead the way you are then I would, but if she took charge I don't think I'd need to." Cloud didn't say anything and Zack knelt, placing each foot into his lap in turn so he could remove the stockings, and he finished undressing Cloud in silence. "Do you want to undress me yourself, or should I strip for you?"

"Strip for me please." Zack forced a smile at that and went into a routine he'd been forced to learn to amuse his master a year ago. At least Cloud seemed to appreciate it too, and he didn't leer at Zack or anything, just looked at him with an appreciative smile. Zack sat beside Cloud and kissed him again, stroking his back gently and waiting for Cloud to do something himself. Eventually Cloud seemed to get the message because he laughed into Zack's mouth and lifted his arms to wrap them about his shoulders, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Then Zack could move on, lifting Cloud and laying him down on his back, kneeling beside him, and stroking his body carefully, watching to see what got the best reactions. There was something he should bring up before they got any further though.

"Umm...I'm going to need..." He couldn't think of a polite way to say it, but he didn't need to from Cloud's laughing response.

"Lube? It's the tube on the table." Zack grabbed the small tube, enough for about two uses, and he couldn't keep the surprise from showing on his face; it was a good brand, but not the best, and it certainly didn't include a Potion in the ingredients. "You don't share lube. Sephiroth's is better, but I don't bottom that often."

"Right." Zack lay down beside Cloud, and began touching him again, arousing him as much as he could before moving to kneel between his legs and sliding a pillow under his ass to lift it up a bit. Then he took Cloud into his mouth, covering his fingers with lube and sliding the smallest one into Cloud very carefully as he began to suck slightly. He was slow and careful about stretching the blond, making sure he distracted him whenever he moved on a stage, by running his tongue along the prominent vein in his cock, by using his free hand to play with Cloud's balls, or by pressing the tip of his tongue to the head of Cloud's cock.

"Could you roll onto your side please?" Cloud seemed surprised, but he obeyed and Zack curled up behind him, pushing inside him slowly, and then stopping when he thought he was as far as he could get without seriously hurting Cloud. He just hoped it didn't bother Cloud that he wanted to find out what it was like to go slowly, and savour every minute of the experience, the warrior caste Cetra he'd been with before didn't have enough patience to permit that, and even the healer caste didn't really care about his pleasure.

"You pass." That was all Cloud said afterwards and he knew it was a dismissal.

oxOX()XOxo

Cloud grabbed hold of Sephiroth's hair and pulled his head down to kiss him fiercely as he pushed him back against the wall and unfastened Sephiroth's leather pants. It was just a little bit awkward for Cloud to align their groins so he could jerk them both off with the same free hand considering their difference in height, but Sephiroth didn't make any effort to help him, just moaning helplessly into Cloud's mouth and clutching his shoulders. When they'd both climaxed Cloud picked up a damp cloth and cleaned them up before letting go of Sephiroth and stepping back.

"Thank you Cloud." He spoke quietly, eyes still closed.

"You looked so beautiful I couldn't resist." Cloud's voice sounded just a little bit smug. "Now get your shirt on so we can get going."

"I need to brush my hair again as well." Sephiroth didn't meet Cloud's eyes as he pulled his shirt on, looking at him from beneath lowered lashes instead until he turned away to put his own shirt on.

Sephiroth brushed out his hair quickly, grateful that since this would just be a small 'family' party he didn't need to dress up and display himself as Cloud's consort. Not the way he would for the more formal party that would be held to celebrate Aeris' coming of age this evening.

"Ready love?" Cloud sounded a little amused by Sephiroth's actions, but _his_ hair didn't show what they'd been doing, it was too short to tangle the way Sephiroth's did, and his hair was too straight and fine for anyone not to realise what they'd been doing if they saw its state earlier.

"Yes my lord." Sephiroth smiled at Cloud as he put his brush down, taking the offered hand and lifting it to nuzzle at the wrist for a moment. "Where are we picking Zack up again?"

"He should be waiting for us in the armoury." Picking up his sword since he wasn't supposed to be armed outside of the training hall except in a warrior caste Cetra's company until he was formally named Aeris' bodyguard. "Let's move." Sephiroth walked beside Cloud as they picked Zack up and then went to the sunroom. Sephiroth heard Zack gasp in surprise as they entered and realised that they'd forgotten to warn him about the unusual nature of the room.

Like any sunroom it had huge double glazed windows, but only half the floor was made up of polished oak floorboards and the rest, an irregular oval in the centre of the room, was where a carpet of flowers of all types grew, including flowers native to the Nibel mountains and to the Gongaga jungles. Cloud and Sephiroth were so used to the way Aeris reclaimed the dead Midgar soil and used it to plant in any ground floor room with enough light she spent much time in that Sephiroth at least sometimes forgot how beautiful it was.

Cloud let go of his hand to catch hold of Aeris as she threw herself at him for a hug and Sephiroth prudently stepped back a little to let his lord swing her around without worrying about hurting him, glancing back to check that Zack was doing the same from a sense of duty.

"It's good to see you Cloud." Sephiroth was guiltily aware that he'd occupied too much of Cloud's time in the two days since he'd returned for him to spend much time with Aeris and that he'd been avoiding her himself during the days he had to visit the slave market. He wasn't going to try to justify his selfishness, even to himself, and he watched as Cloud returned his sister's greetings.

"Aeris, this is Zack, I thought that since you gave _me_ my first concubine for _my_ coming of age I'd give _you_ your first bodyguard for yours." Zack looked a bit insulted by the comparison, and Aeris seemed to be angry on his behalf.

"The two positions are not even _remotely_ comparable..." Sephiroth didn't really pay attention to what Aeris said after that, he was too caught up in the memories of Cloud's birthday a year and a half ago. He'd _known_ that Cloud would have to choose his first concubine between his sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays, but he'd still felt almost betrayed when Aeris saved him the trouble by presenting him with a concubine as a birthday gift. He'd been terrified that Cloud would want to try the other man first before turning to Sephiroth, because Tseng had the benefit of being unfamiliar to him, and therefore exotic.

His fear had been unwarranted as it happened, Cloud had only made use of Tseng eight times in total since then, and on three of those occasions all he'd wanted was to watch Sephiroth take Tseng, and since he'd wanted the two of them together twice Sephiroth had learned to respect the concubine. But it would still have been nice to have known beforehand what sort of gift Aeris intended to give his lord, and he might have thought to argue against Cloud's decision on what to get Aeris if she'd shown him that consideration.

"At least I know you're a good fighter if Sephiroth chose you, and Cloud did outfit you well, even if the collar and cuffs are obviously temporary." Zack looked a bit surprised at that last, although he'd been impressed by the leather based armour Cloud had ordered him equipped with and that he was wearing now. "I always planned to outfit my first bodyguard with something similar to Sephiroth's collar and cuffs, not black leather with spikes."

"Thank you my lady." Zack stepped forward and took Aeris' extended hand, bowing over to kiss it before looking past her at the flowers. "Are those ghost lilies? I haven't seen any of those outside Gongaga before." And he would know Sephiroth thought, his file said he'd had masters all over the world. Then he flushed and bowed his head. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insolent my lady. It's just I haven't seen them cultivated anywhere, even in Gongaga, and you've got Nibel poppies here as well."

"It's alright, I'm not offended." Although Aeris' tutor, Isis, seemed to be, but Elmyra her adoptive mother wasn't and her opinion meant more to Aeris than Isis' did, especially since she'd learned everything Isis had to teach by the time she was fifteen. "And I don't tell them where to grow, the way humans do when they're cultivating flowers, I just ask them to grow. Sephiroth gave me the cuttings to start them growing for my last birthday." He was allowed to accompany Cloud on some of the journeys he had to make, and he'd collected the cuttings himself, the way Aeris had taught him, when they had to make a trip to Gongaga shortly before her seventeenth. Cloud had been kept busy with duties, but Sephiroth had been permitted to do whatever he wanted, within reason, and visiting the jungles, with a bodyguard accompanying him was considered within reason - apparently it was something a healer caste Cetra would have asked to do.

"Speaking of birthday presents Aeris, I think these seeds might be interesting. I'm not sure what they are, but I'd never seen a flower like it before." He offered the seeds he'd collected in Wutai last October, smiling at his sister. He liked to be able to give her little things like this, and he knew she usually enjoyed them too.

"Thank you Sephiroth. So, tell me what the flower looked like and where it grew." Aeris opened the bag with a smile, pulling out one of the grey oval seeds, then she glanced back at Zack. "If you want to take a closer look at the flowers feel free to Zack, just don't damage them."

"Thank you my lady." Sephiroth wasn't sure that Zack was really interested, but he was polite at any rate and he knelt at the edge of the carpet of flowers, just where the floorboards gave way to soil. Cloud had gone to talk with Elmyra while Isis looked on disapprovingly - not that it mattered since she was due to be dismissed within a week, since Aeris was only obliged to have a tutor until she came of age. Cloud had been friendly enough with his tutor, Morgan, to keep him on as Sephiroth's primary bodyguard, but Isis had made herself disliked by _everyone_ in the household with her insistence on rigid formality at all times. Sephiroth sat down on the nearest cushion, Aeris sitting opposite, and began focusing his memory on what she wanted to know.

"I cannot tell you what the flower in question was like in full bloom, but there were some dying blossoms nearby, and I _think_ they were of the same type as the seed I collected. The flower was almost the same shade of pink as your dress, just a little bit paler, and I _believe_ the pale yellow-brown at the edges of the petals indicated that it was dying rather than being a normal part of the colouration."

"What shape were the petals? And how many were there on each flower?" Aeris' questions helped Sephiroth direct his description and told him what interested her most, and they _also_ helped convince him that his gift _was_ appreciated - probably more than Cloud's gift was truthfully, although she did turn her attention to Zack once she'd finished interrogating Sephiroth.

"You said you're from Gongaga, and I already know you're a good fighter, but I don't know anything else about you. So, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know my lady?" Sephiroth moved to curl up with his head in Cloud's lap as Aeris spoke to Zack, ignoring Isis' sniff of disapproval; her obvious distaste for him had been another thing that had alienated her from Cloud and Aeris.

"Oh, save that for in public. When it's just us and my family call me Aeris. And speaking of family why not start with yours? What were your parents like? Any brothers or sisters when you were a kid?" Before Hojo had infected him and condemned him to slavery.

"No, no brothers or sister. Mom was always disappointed by that, but..." And Sephiroth listened as within ten minutes Aeris drew out more personal information about Zack than _he'd_ learned in four days.

oxOX()XOxo

Zack couldn't quite believe how much Aeris had convinced him to tell her about himself, and he spent the last half an hour of the party trying to rationalise what had happened while she showed off the other presents she'd been given.

"Come on Zack, I'll show you where Cloud will have ordered your things moved." Zack was tempted to reply with a bitter 'What things?' but he knew better than to imply that a Cetra was being dishonest, instead he found something else to ask.

"Does Sephiroth always give you seeds or something like that for your birthday?"

"Usually, yes. Consorts don't have any money of their own as a rule; they're expected to devote their lives entirely to making their lord or lady's life run more easily, and so they have to be at least one caste below their lord or lady; it also means they're entirely dependent on an allowance they're given. My brother figured out that I value a gift that took more thought than simply buying something over any expensive bauble, so he goes out of his way to find rare seeds and cuttings for me. It means he sometimes has to give me my birthday present a bit early or a bit late, but that doesn't matter." It wouldn't have mattered to Zack either, his family hadn't been rich in monetary terms, they hadn't been poor either, but they hadn't had the money to spend on expensive presents.

"I'd have thought that Cloud would have made a point of telling you the presents he gave you were from both of them." He had learned that Cloud cared about Sephiroth in the past two days.

"Once he was ten he began to, but he didn't think of it before that, and Sephiroth had gotten into the habit of finding new seeds for me by then." They'd reached a room just like the one Zack had met Sephiroth in before Cloud tested him and Aeris pointed to the door to the left. "Your bedroom is through there, and there's a shower and toilet connected to it. But I want to talk to you first, so sit down please."

Zack obeyed, hiding his fear - it had always been bad for him when his owners wanted to talk to him. Aeris sat beside him, leaning against him and touching the cuff on his left wrist, then pulling away and making an upset sound.

"I'm sorry, do you mind me leaning up against you and touching your cuffs like that, or playing with your hair?" Why did she think she needed _his_ permission? And she was asking little enough.

"Go ahead." She seemed to want him to act almost as if he was her equal, so he might as well risk it. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'd planned for my first bodyguard to have a collar and cuffs like Sephiroth's, except the five slots on your collar would probably be better unlinked. So, what sort of training do you have in using materia?"

"None, not really."

"In that case we can fit four purple materia into your collar, with one red, green materia in your wrist cuffs and a paired green and blue in each ankle cuff. And Cloud or Sephiroth can teach you how to use the green and the red materia."

"Umm...what about the purple and the blue materia?"

"Purple works on you automatically, that's why you'll have four of them, well that and they almost match your eyes, we'll talk about which of them you should use later, and the blue only work _with_ the green, or sometimes red or yellow."

"Right." Zack felt ashamed of how little he knew about materia, but he needed to know if Aeris expected him to use them. "What does each type of materia do?"

"Red materia allow you to summon things, purple improve your abilities, for instance Speed Plus makes you faster, green materia will each cast a set of spells, and blue materia will have an effect on how the materia it's paired with works, like the way an All materia will let a spell attack more targets than usual."

"Thanks." Zack smiled at his lady, the feel of her hand in his hair unexpectedly pleasant. "I know I'm your bodyguard, and I've already got a general idea of my duties, but is there anything special I need to do?"

"Nothing special, not as a rule. You do know the protocol for formal events don't you?"


End file.
